Zotero is an open-source reference management tool. I started using it only recently – okay, yesterday – because I was looking for a way to gather together all my references for a book project. If you don’t have a good system in place, references can quickly turn into a soul-destroying, madness-inducing,...

While I was writing my previous post, Zotero for reference management, I created an Alfred custom search to make locating books in the WorldCat library easier and quicker. Here’s what the Alfred URL looks like: alfred://customsearch/Search%20WorldCat%20for%20%E2%80%98%7Bquery...

Logobook is a 776-page, 5.5lb giant of a book by Ludovic Houplain, co-director of Academy award-winning animated short Logorama. The short film’s success in 2009 made it a point of reference for corporate culture. Just some of the logos to be found in Logobook. Image: Taschen Publisher Taschen says: The monumental...

Stephen Coles’ The Anatomy of Type is also known as The Geometry of Type due to regional publisher requirements – two books, two titles, same content. The Anatomy of Type has so far only made it as far as my wish list, which usually means a purchase is imminent. I’ll update this post with my personal notes at some...

When I read Jonathan Poritsky’s review of Ullysses III on The Candler Blog last week, I thought here was a writing app that might finally better nvALT. nvALT has been my note-taking app of choice for Mac for the past couple of years. But it’s missing one refinement – enhanced Markdown. A preview window is all well...

Too many projects, too many ideas, too much going on in that bottomless chasm of tasks that’s known as daily life. One project after another challenges my inbox’s zero ambitions; one idea after another pops into my head and demands I take notes, buy a domain name, set up a Twitter handle, and claim a Facebook page....

The Bolt, shown in grey. Image: Karas Customise If you appreciate fine objects, then you’ll likely find space in your pocket for The Bolt. Made by Arizona-based machine shop Karas Kustoms, The Bolt is a machined, bolt-action pen body. Don’t be put off by the unique nature of the design. The Bolt is sized to take any...

A lot has been written about the iPad as a Mac replacement. Back in February, in ‘The iPad can be a true Mac alternative’, instead Shawn Blanc put the case for the iPad as “a Mac alternative”: … the Mac doesn’t have to become less in order for the iPad to become more. —Shawn Blanc For me, it all boils down to what...

Founded in 2005, Slanted is a quarterly magazine, with a focus on typography, design, illustration and photography. Slanted #21: Cuba – The New Generation. Source: Slanted.de Number 21 is the Cuban issue: Revolution or evolution? Rise or fall? House of pleasure or paradise? Coke or Guarapo? Marlboro or Cohiba? Beans...

I’ve fallen into this trap many a time. In the past, when I’d finished whatever book I’d been reading, I would start to figure out what to read next. This approach left an unsightly gap in my reading timeline; worse, I was missing out on one of my greatest pleasures. These days, I always have three or four books on...

The Beautiful Colors Edition The latest in Field Notes’ line of Colors Editions is ‘America The Beautiful’ – three full-colour covers: ‘Spacious Skies’, ‘Amber Waves’, and ‘Mountain Majesty’. Printed on Tango cover stock, with Finch Fine Soft White paper ruled in looseleaf blue for the inners. Available as a single...

In 2010, when Keith Houston created his Shady Characters blog, a site that shines light on the history of typographic marks, such as the pilcrow, the ampersand and the hash mark, it probably wasn’t clear that all roads would lead to here, the publication of his site’s eponymous book. Shady Characters is scheduled to...